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Page 373
It did not matter, of course. The device had no chance of working once it was known, and it had no chance of remaining unknown by its very nature. When gold is scattered freely among poor knights-errant before they have accomplished their mission and are therefore bound to remain in the place, tongues are bound to wag over wine pots and in bawdy houses. It was this talk that had brought Vesci and Leicester to fight under Ian's banner and which FitzWalter had betrayed. A good move, that, Ian acknowledged. For FitzWalter, it would have been better if no scent of treachery had fouled the tourney atmosphere, but, once the smell of it was abroad, he could hope to cut his losses by fixing Ian's attention on the expectation of a mass attack from the opposition.
By the time Ian reached the tourney field, his amusement had abated. Plot and overplot that revealed each other might be funny. It was also true that the likelihood that either plot alone would be successful was greatly decreased by the fact that it was known. However, the men involved in the king's plan were quite intelligent enough to put two and two together. If they held off their attack until the mass attack was launched, the combination might well overwhelm Ian, Vesci, Leicester and their followers. While he donned his armor in the pavilion assigned to his forces, Ian worried the question of revealing what he knew to the others. Either alternative was equally unpleasant. If he spoke, he would blacken the king's name in a dangerous way; if he did not, he might endanger the men who were trying to help him.
Owain proffered a tilting helmet, which Ian stared at blankly for a minute. Then he thrust it away impatiently. "Not that one," he snapped. "This is fighting. I have to breathe." And then, furiously, "My God, do you mean to tell me you have not brought my battle helm?"
No one intended to tell him anything when he was

 
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